Connector unit for blood treatment machine to connect said blood treatment machine to an external container and blood treatment machine comprising said connector unit

ABSTRACT

A connector unit for a blood treatment machine connects the blood treatment machine to an external container. The connector unit includes a machine-side line which is designed for being fluid-connected to the blood treatment machine, a container-side line which is designed for being fluid-connected to the container, and an attachment tightly connected to the machine-side line and to the container-side line which is designed for being detachably mounted on a connecting nozzle of the external container so as to fluid-connect the external container to the blood treatment machine. The connector unit can be included on a blood treatment machine.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of German ApplicationNo. 10 2018 104 457.7, filed Feb. 27, 2018, the content of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a connector unit for a blood treatmentmachine to connect said blood treatment machine to an externalcontainer, a system comprising said connector unit and an externalcontainer as well as a blood treatment machine comprising at least onesaid connector unit.

BACKGROUND

For blood treatment, especially when carrying out a dialysis treatment,it is necessary to prepare an electrolyte solution, i.e. the so-calleddialysis fluid. In the dialyser said dialysis fluid flushes the blood ofa patient and absorbs small-molecular and medium-molecular substancesfrom the blood.

For preparing the dialysis fluid a blood treatment machine and, resp., adialysis machine requires purified water (permeate), an acid concentrateand sodium hydrogen carbonate which is contained either in solid form ina cartridge or in liquid form in a canister being connected to the bloodtreatment machine.

In order to make the substances required for preparing the dialysisfluid available to the blood treatment machine, for example commerciallyavailable canisters containing acid concentrates or basic concentratesand, resp., solutions can be placed on the machine bottom of the bloodtreatment machine and can be connected to the machine via connectinglines.

Alternatively, it is possible to pass said concentrates from a centralsource directly into the machine.

Usually the required concentrates are provided in canisters, however.Said canisters are usually closed by a conventional lid.

In order to make the concentrates available to the blood treatmentmachine, the lid of each canister is screwed off and a round threadedadapter which is substantially configured like a conventional canisterlid having a round opening for inserting a connecting line is screwedonto the canister. Then the connecting line of the blood treatmentmachine can be inserted into the canister through the opening within thethreaded adapter so that the machine can suck concentrate from thecanister via the connecting line.

Said procedure in practice has several drawbacks, however.

Firstly, the separate threaded adapters have to be separately storedeven when the blood treatment machine does not require the same forpreparing dialysis fluid so that the space required by the entire bloodtreatment system will increase.

In addition, the separate adapters can get lost during storage and thenare not available in the case of need.

Furthermore, the risk of incorrect connections is quite high with thisconventional procedure, as the threaded adapters used mostly have thesame insertion opening and, in this way, e.g. the connecting line forthe acid concentrate may erroneously also be inserted into the canistercontaining the basic solution.

In conventional dialysis machines or blood treatment machines said erroris not detected before the machine has already sucked the wrongconcentrate, which endangers the patient's safety.

From the state of the art, various subassemblies for connectingconcentrate containers to a blood treatment machine are known.

For example, JP 2010 184 110 A discloses a suspension device for aliquid suction line which includes a cap and a supporting portion forthe cap.

Furthermore, EP 2 730 304 B1 discloses a connector for disposablecontainers to be used in dialysis machines which comprises an externalthread adapted to be screwed into a connector of a bag containingpre-mixed dialysis fluid.

In addition, the document WO 2013/117340 A1 discloses a connector for acontainer including a spiking solution for individually adaptingdialysis solutions and concentrations.

Moreover, the document CN 2019/21175 U discloses a cover which can bescrewed onto a connecting piece of a canister by means of threadedengagement.

A further state of the art is the document EP1625867 B1 which disclosesa device for gas supply at two different pressures.

SUMMARY

In view of the state of the art, the object underlying the presentdisclosure is to provide a connector unit for a blood treatment machinefor connecting the blood treatment machine to an external containerwhich reduces the number of single parts required and thus facilitatesmanipulation.

A connector unit for a blood treatment machine to connect the bloodtreatment machine to an external container according to the disclosureincludes:

-   -   a machine-side line which is designed for being fluid-connected        to the blood treatment machine,    -   a container-side line which is designed for being        fluid-connected to the container, and    -   an attachment tightly and, resp., permanently connected to the        machine-side line and the container-side line which is designed        for being detachably mounted to a connecting piece/connecting        nozzle of the external container so as to fluid-connect the        external container to the blood treatment machine.

Hence, the core of the disclosure consists in connecting the threadedattachment/adapter for the concentrate canister separately configuredaccording to prior art tightly, preferably in accordance withnon-detachably/non-removably, to the connecting line of the bloodtreatment machine and, resp., integrating in the latter to form asubassembly. Said integration of the threaded adapter with theconnecting line of the dialysis machine can safeguard that the adapterneither has to be separately supported nor can get lost, but is anintegral/permanent part of the blood treatment system, especially of theconnector unit of the blood treatment machine. This helps to improve thehandling of the connecting line as compared to prior art. Moreover, thespace required by the blood treatment system as well as the number ofthe required single parts can be reduced. Finally, it is possible toprevent incorrect connection of a wrong concentrate to a wrong connectorof the blood treatment machine, as each attachment is invariablyassociated with a particular connecting line and therefore, at the sametime, association of the connecting line with a particular externalcontainer is obtained/ensured.

According to a preferred aspect of the disclosure, the attachment of theconnector unit is further configured so that it can be exclusivelymounted to a connecting piece of an external container of a particulartype, wherein the type of external container corresponds to the contentof the container (e.g. the container is of the “acid concentratecontainer” type or “basic concentrate container” type etc.), whichensures that exclusively the external container of one particulardesired type corresponding to the content of the container can befluid-connected to the blood treatment machine by means of the connectorunit.

In other words, a particular attachment can be connected for exampleonly to an acid container or else only to a base container. Theparticular attachment thus can be connected only to each container ofthe acid container type or only to each container of the base containertype.

It is required in this case that the individual containers of each typeare configured to be uniform at least with respect to their connectingpiece. It is further taken as a basis that the connecting pieces of acontainer including acid and a container including base are differentfrom each other. The type of container accordingly denotes the “acidcontainer” type or “base container” type etc. The type of externalcontainer thus corresponds to the content of the container anddetermines the configuration of the connecting piece of the externalcontainer which serves as mounting piece for the attachment of aconnector unit of a blood treatment machine.

Such unambiguous association of an attachment of a connector unitaccording to the lock-and-key principle with a special type of externalcontainer corresponding to a defined content of the container mayprevent a container including acid from being erroneously connected to aconnector which in fact should be connected to a container includingbase. An attachment provided for an acid container cannot be mounted toa base container due to its geometric configuration. This helps tosignificantly increase the patients' safety.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the attachment of theconnector unit is further designed for being held by form locking orfrictional locking to the connecting piece of the external container ofa predetermined type when the attachment is mounted on the connectingpiece.

Concretely speaking, the attachment may be, for example, in the form ofa shape-elastic bellow and, resp., of a rubber bellow which can beslipped and, resp., drawn over the connecting piece of the externalcontainer.

Said shape-elastic attachment of the connector unit may have asubstantially elastically deformable cylindrical base member thediameter of which is smaller in the idle state than the diameter of theconnector piece of the external container and which therefore can beapplied to the connecting piece of the external container in a stretchedcondition only.

Alternatively, the frictional connection can as well be realized in thatthe attachment is in the form of a dimensionally stable cap which has apreferably smooth inner face and can be attached substantially free fromplay to a corresponding connecting piece of the container having asmooth outer face of the connecting piece, with frictional connectionbetween the inside of the cap-shaped attachment and the outside of theconnecting piece of the external container holding the attachment on thecontainer.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, the attachment can alsobe configured to be rotatable about the container-side line and as adimensionally stable cap, with the dimensionally stable cap preferablyhaving a female thread which is designed to be engaged in a matchingmale thread of the connecting piece of the external container of thepredetermined type. The attachment then is positively held on theconnecting piece of the external container.

Alternatively, also other types of form locking are imaginable such ase.g. a bayonet closure, an anchoring by means of locking arms engagingin recesses or via undercut. The form locking offers the advantage of anespecially safe and stable anchoring of the attachment of the connectorunit to the connecting piece of the external container.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the connector unitin addition includes a reinforcing element which in the area of theattachment and beyond the area of the attachment extends toward acontainer-side end of the container-side line of the connector unit fora defined length portion along the container-side line.

In other words, the reinforcing element helps to reinforce thecontainer-side line in the area of the attachment and somewhat beyondthe latter. Said reinforcement facilitates handling of the connectorunit as well as the mounting of the connector unit by means of theattachment to an external container, as the container-side line will notrandomly buckle.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, at the container-sideline and/or at the reinforcing element, preferably adjacent to theattachment, at least one limiting element is provided which limits anaxial movement of the attachment along the longitudinal axis of thecontainer-side line and/or of the reinforcing element.

If a reinforcing element is provided, the at least one limiting elementis preferably arranged on the reinforcing element. Unless a reinforcingelement is provided, the at least one limiting element is provided atthe container-side line.

The limiting element preferably takes the shape of a projection and,resp., of a shoulder or else of an annular peripheral projection onwhich the attachment rests, thus preventing shifting along thelongitudinal axis of the reinforcing element.

Concretely speaking, the limiting element may also be in the form of arubber ring which is pushed onto the reinforcing element. Of preference,the attachment is so-to-speak prevented from axially moving in bothdirections on the one side by the at least one limiting element and onthe other side by a grip member of the connector unit.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, the connector unitfurther includes at least one sealing element which is arranged on thereinforcing element and/or the machine-side line and which is designedfor fluidically sealing a clearance between the outside of thereinforcing element and, resp., the machine-side line and an inside of aconnector of the blood treatment machine, when the reinforcing elementand, resp., the container-side line is inserted in the connector/aholding fixture of the blood treatment machine. In other words, at leastone, preferably two, sealing element(s) is/are provided which is/aredisposed at the connecting nipple preferably in the area of thereinforcement and which is/are designed for fluidically sealing aclearance between the outside of the connecting nipple, preferably ofthe reinforcement, and an inside of the holding fixture of the bloodtreatment machine and/or of the connecting nozzle of the externalcontainer, when the reinforcing element is inserted in the connector ofthe blood treatment machine or the connecting nozzle of the container.

In practice, the container-side line and, resp., the reinforcing elementis inserted into and, resp., stored in the connector/holding fixture ofthe blood treatment machine during a rinsing operation or for storage,when the connecting line is not required.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, the connector unitfurther comprises a release device which releases fluid flow between theconnector unit and the external container only when the attachment ofthe connector unit is correctly mounted at a predetermined mountingposition on the connecting piece of the external container. The fluidflow is preferably released by the release device only when theconnector unit is correctly attached to the blood treatment machine (forexample during disinfection or a rinsing operation). Otherwise, forexample during hot disinfection, hot disinfectant could flow out of themachine, thus increasing the risk of injury for a user.

The release device can be configured solely by the connector unit orjointly by the connector unit and the external container.

Concretely speaking, the release device may be a reed contact, forexample, in which the attachment is equipped with a reed contact and theconnecting piece of the external container is equipped with a magnet.Only when the contact is closed by the vicinity of the magnet, can theconnector unit open a respective valve and release supply of theconcentrate to the blood treatment machine.

Furthermore, in the connector unit, too, a capacitive sensor may beincorporated which reacts to an appropriate material of the externalcontainer and thus determines whether the attachment of the connectorunit has correctly been mounted on the connecting piece of thecontainer.

Alternatively or additionally, also the use of a reflecting lightbarrier is imaginable which determines that the connecting piece of thecontainer is correctly inserted in the attachment of the connecting lineand only in that case releases fluid flow between the connector unit,the container and the blood treatment machine.

This helps to prevent the external containers from being left open,which bears the risk of potential contamination by particles penetratingfrom the ambient air, which ensures concentrate being sucked via thecontainer-side line only when the connector unit is tightly connected tothe external container.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a blood treatmentmachine comprising a connector unit according to the disclosure which isfluid-connected to a predetermined connector of the blood treatmentmachine via the machine-side line of the connector unit.

Preferably, the connector unit is permanently coupled to the bloodtreatment machine via the machine-side line of the connector unit. Saidfixed connection between the connector unit and the blood treatmentmachine and the exclusive connectability between the attachment of theconnector unit and only the external container which includes thecorrect concentrate (acid or base) allows to safeguard that the bloodtreatment machine can suck only the correct concentrate via eachconnector. This helps to increase the safety when preparing dialysisfluid.

A further aspect of the disclosure relates to a blood treatment machinecomprising a plurality of connector units in accordance with the presentdisclosure each of which is fluid-connected to a respective dedicatedand predetermined connector of the blood treatment machine. Eachattachment of each connector unit of the plurality of connector units isconfigured such that the attachment can be detachably mounted only tothe connecting piece of an external container of a respectivepredetermined type (for example acid container or base container), thetype of container corresponding to the content of the container.

In other words, the blood treatment machine thus includes, for example,a connector unit for supplying acid concentrate which comprises anattachment adapted to be mounted only to containers including acidconcentrate and a connector unit for supplying basic concentrate whichcomprises an attachment adapted to be mounted only to a containerincluding base concentrate.

It is further also advantageous that, according to another aspect of thedisclosure, at least one but preferably each of the connector units ofthe blood treatment machine additionally includes a release device whichreleases fluid flow between the blood treatment machine and therespective dedicated external container only when the attachment of therespective connector unit is correctly mounted at a predeterminedmounting position on the connecting piece of the respective externalcontainer.

In other words, another safety level is introduced by the release deviceto ensure that for fluid exchange between the blood treatment machineand the external container not only the respective correct type ofexternal container (acid container or base container) is connected tothe respective correct connector unit via the attachment, but that thefluid flow is released only when the attachment is in fact mountedcorrectly and tightly to the respective external container.

In this way, a container cannot happen, with its attachment of theconnector unit being only loosely attached to the connecting piece ofthe container, to be left for a quite long period of time while theblood treatment machine prepares dialysis fluid, without this is noticedby the staff members.

Rather, it is indicated to a user immediately when the connector unit ismounted to the connecting piece of the external container that theattachment is not correctly mounted on the connecting piece of theexternal container. In this way, contaminations of the concentrates and,resp., of the content of the containers are avoided, as containers areprevented from being exposed to the ambient air over quite long timewhile being in a just loosely closed condition.

Another aspect of the disclosure further relates to a system consistingof a connector unit according to the present disclosure and an externalcontainer, the system preferably having a release device which releasesfluid flow between the connector unit and the external container onlywhen the attachment of the connector unit is correctly mounted at apredetermined mounting position on the connecting piece of the externalcontainer.

Already existing blood treatment machines may be retrofitted with suchsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Further advantages and features of the present disclosure will beevident from the following description of preferred embodiments withreference to the related figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a connector unit for a blood treatment machine forconnecting the blood treatment machine to an external container,

FIG. 2a shows a connector unit for a blood treatment machine forconnecting the blood treatment machine to an external container in aposition during a rinsing operation of the blood treatment machine inwhich the container-side line and the reinforcing element are insertedin a holding fixture/connector of the blood treatment machine;

FIG. 2b shows a variant of the arrangement from FIG. 2a in which theblood treatment machine has a connecting piece including a male thread;

FIG. 3 shows a connector unit for a blood treatment machine forconnecting the blood treatment machine to an external containeraccording to the disclosure which is mounted on the external containerat a correct mounting position, and

FIG. 4 shows a blood treatment machine comprising a connector unitaccording to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a connector unit 1 for a blood treatment machine forconnecting the blood treatment machine to an external container (notshown in FIG. 1) comprising a machine-side line (connecting line) 3which is designed for being fluid-connected to the blood treatmentmachine, a container-side line (suction line/suction tube) 4 which isdesigned for being fluid-connected to the external container and, resp.,to be inserted into a container, and an attachment 6 fixedly connectedto the machine-side line 3 and the container-side line 4 whichattachment is designed for being detachably mounted to (screwedonto/into or slipped onto/inserted into) a connecting piece/connectingnozzle of the external container so as to fluid-connect the externalcontainer to the blood treatment machine.

For better handling, the connector unit 1 includes a type of plug/gripmember 2 in the form of an L piece preferably made from rigid (plastic)material on/at which further a grip 2 a is formed by which a user canmanipulate the connector unit/plug 2 and which is preferablyergonomically adapted to a user's hand. The plug 2 has two connectingnipples 8 a, 8 b fluid-connected to each other which are substantiallyaligned perpendicular with each other and to which the machine-side(connecting) line 3 and the container-side (suction) line 4 are attachedin a fluid-tight manner. Alternatively, the lines 3, 4 may as well beinserted in the connecting nipples 8 a 8 b and, resp., in the plug 2.

Although, in the present exemplary embodiment, the two connectingnipples 8 a, 8 b of the plug fluid-connected to each other are arrangedperpendicular with each other, the present disclosure is not limited tosaid angle, however, and the two connecting nipples 8 a, 8 b may as wellbe arranged at any other angle with each other.

In addition, each of the connecting nipples 8 a, 8 b may also be fixedlyconnected to the lines 3 and 4 instead of being connected to the lines 3and 4 via a plug-type connection (by inserting or attaching).

Finally, the plug 2 forms, on its side facing the container, a stoppreferably in the form of a collar 2 b which projects radially from thecontainer-side connecting nipple 8 a in ring shape. Especially thecontainer-side connecting nipple 8 a preferably includes at its proximalend portion a type of reinforcement, i.e. the outer diameter thereof atits proximal end portion is somewhat larger than at its distal endportion.

The lines 3, 4 are rigid or flexible lines. The machine-side line 3 ispreferably permanently fluid-connected to the blood treatment machine.However, it is also alternatively possible to provide the machine-sideline 3 at its end facing the blood treatment machine with a connectingpiece/coupling 3 a which is preferably connectable to a couplingspecifically formed for this purpose at the blood treatment machine.

The container-side line 4 is inserted or insertible in an opening of theexternal container/canister and preferably is in direct contact with theconcentrate contained in the external container/canister.

The length of each of the lines 3, 4 may be variable, offering theadvantage of sucking concentrates provided in external containers whichdeviate from the common canister geometry/size or containergeometry/size, respectively. For example, also canisters that are higherthan common canisters can be emptied without any residual concentrateremaining in the canister.

In the present embodiment, the attachment 6 is in the form of acap-shaped dimensionally stable component including a cap bottom 6 aconfigured to have a central through bore and a peripheral wall 6 bforming a female thread, which component is designed for engaging in amale thread of a connecting piece/connecting nozzle of the externalcontainer.

The through bore within the cap bottom 6 a of the attachment 6substantially has an inner diameter which allows the container-sideconnecting nipple 8 a of the plug 2 to be inserted. Alternatively, it isalso possible, however, to form the plug 2 and the attachment 6 in one(material) piece. The container-side connecting nipple 8 a further isdimensioned so that it extends along the container-side line 4 in thearea of the attachment 6 and there beyond for a defined length towardthe container-side end of the container-side line 4 (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the connecting nipple 8 a substantially takesthe shape of a tube to which the container-side line 4 is attached so asto provide a fluid passage to the machine-side line 3.

Furthermore, the connector unit 1 according to the present embodimentincludes a limiting element 7 preferably in the form of a ring-typeshaft locking clip which is provided at the connecting nipple 8 apreferably in the area of the reinforcement thereof and, in thisembodiment, is configured as a rubber ring peripheral around theconnecting nipple 8 a and being pushed onto the connecting nipple 8 a.Alternatively and/or additionally, also radial projections may beprovided at the connecting nipple 8 a, however, which adopt the functionof the limiting element.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the limiting element 7 is arranged in directvicinity of the cap-shaped attachment 6, especially of the cap bottom 6a thereof, viz. on the side of the attachment 6 and, resp., of the capbottom 6 a facing the container-side end of the connecting nipple 8 a.In other words, the attachment 6 and, resp., the cap bottom 6 a thereofthus is/are clamped between the limiting element 7 and the stop 2 b andthus are fixed in the axial direction.

As is moreover evident from FIG. 1, the connector unit 1 furtherincludes at the connecting nipple 8 a, preferably in the area of thereinforcement thereof, two sealing elements (rubber rings) 5 a and 5 bwhich are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the axialdirection of the connecting nipple 8 a at/on the latter and, in thisway, form a type of double seal. In the event that the container-sideline 4 is slipped/pulled over the connecting nipple 8 a, the two sealingelements 5 a, 5 b are dimensioned so that they extend radially over theouter radius of the slipped-on line 4.

In the present embodiment, the sealing elements 5 a and 5 b areconfigured as sealing rings. There may be any number of sealingelements, but at least one sealing element must be present. The sealingelements 5 a and 5 b are fixed in position along the connecting nipple 8a by the fact that each of them is embedded between two projections(shaft rings) which are annularly peripheral around the connectingnipple 8 a so that they cannot move away from their predeterminedposition in the axial direction of the connecting nipple 8 a.

In addition, the connector unit 1 comprises a release device 10 (shownonly implicitly in FIG. 1) which ensures that the fluid exchange betweenthe blood treatment machine and the external container via the connectorunit 1 takes place only when the attachment 6 of the connector unit 1 iscorrectly (and completely) mounted on the connecting piece of theexternal container.

FIG. 2 illustrates the connector unit 1 according to the disclosure fromFIG. 1 which forms a rinsing bridge with the blood treatment machineduring a rinsing operation of the latter.

Concretely speaking, the container-side line 4 and the connecting nipple8 a are inserted/plugged into an appropriately shaped receiving aperture20 of the blood treatment machine 21. The connecting nipple 8 a in thiscondition is inserted into the receiving aperture 20 of the bloodtreatment machine 21 only partially up to the point at which theattachment 6 comes to lie on the surface of the blood treatment machine21, thus preventing the connecting nipple 8 a from being furtherinserted into the receiving aperture 20 of the blood treatment machine21.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2a , in this condition the sealing elements 5a and 5 b fluidically seal the clearance between the outside of theconnecting nipple 8 a and an inside of the receiving aperture 20 of theblood treatment machine 21 in the reinforcing area of the connectingnipple 8 a, thus preventing fluid, such as rinsing fluid, frominadvertently leaking from the receiving aperture 20 of the bloodtreatment machine 21 to the outside.

The position shown in FIG. 2 is the preferred position of the connectorunit 1, when the latter is not required or must be located within theblood treatment machine within the scope of a machine-side rinsingoperation or, resp., disinfection.

In said position, as illustrated in FIG. 2a , the attachment 6 rests onthe outer machine surface. At the same time, the sealing elements 5 a, 5b seal the clearance between the connecting nipple 8 a and the bloodtreatment machine 21 so that no fluid is allowed to flow past thesealing elements 5 a, 5 b out of the machine 21 to the outside. Thismakes sure that also the machine-side line 4 can be rinsed and, resp.,disinfected during the rinsing operation of the blood treatment machine21.

This is extremely important as an external disinfection of thecomponents of the attachment 6 of the limiting element 7 and of the plug2 is not provided so that the sealing elements 5 a and 5 b are alsoindispensable for preventing possible particles passing from outsidethrough the rinsing seat into the rinsing fluid and thus from beingcirculated in the entire blood treatment machine 21.

Alternatively or additionally, it is possible for the connector unit 1to be fastened/screwed in this position via the attachment 6 to theblood treatment machine 21 during the rinsing operation of the bloodtreatment machine 21.

In said embodiment shown in FIG. 2b , the machine surface includes anappropriate connecting piece 22 onto which the attachment 6 is screwed.The connecting piece of the blood treatment machine 21 thus must exhibita male thread.

In this variant, the sealing elements 5 a and 5 b would not beabsolutely necessary, as by the threaded engagement of the connectingpiece of the blood treatment machine and of the attachment 6 theconnector unit 1 is safely retained on the blood treatment machine 21and, in addition, the circulation of the rinsing fluid would be safelyshielded against external contaminants.

This embodiment would allow for also disinfecting and, resp., rinsingeven the inside of the attachment 6 and the limiting element 7 duringautomatic machine-side disinfection and, resp., a rinsing operation. Insaid embodiment, the sealing elements are configured to be notcompletely sealing or at least one additional opening is provided in thesurface of the blood treatment machine 21 inside the connecting piece tofeed rinsing fluid into the interior of the attachment 6.

FIG. 3 illustrates the connector unit according to the disclosure ofFIGS. 1 and 2 in a position in which the connecting line is positivelyconnected to an external container matching the attachment 6 and, resp.,to the connecting piece 9 thereof.

The external container includes, as afore-illustrated, a connectingpiece 9 having a male thread which is engaged in the female thread ofthe attachment 6.

In this embodiment, the attachment 6 is pivoted about the proximalreinforcing portion of the connecting nipple 8 a and the container-sideline 4 so that, when the connector unit 1 is mounted to the container31, the connecting nipple 8 a and the container-side line 4 can beeasily inserted into the container 31 and then the attachment 6 can bescrewed onto the connecting piece 9 without the machine-side line 3connected to the blood treatment machine 21 being twisted.

If, alternatively, the attachment 6 is in the form of a shape-elastic(rubber) bellow, the attachment 6 is simply slipped over the male threadand, resp., the connecting nozzle (connecting piece) 9 of the container31. Advantageously, said attachment 6 is made from acid-proofshape-elastic material such as silicone. In general, it is advantageouswhen the components of the connector unit 1, especially the attachment6, are made from plastic material.

The disclosure provides for adjusting the diameter of the attachment 6depending on the type of container to the connecting piece of which theattachment 6 is to be connected. In order to avoid, for example, anincorrect connection between the connectors for acid concentrate andbasic concentrate and the containers for acid concentrate and basicconcentrate, the diameter of the attachment 6 provided for connection tothe container for the acid concentrate can be adjusted to be larger orsmaller than the diameter of the attachment of a different connectorunit which is provided for being connected to a container for basicconcentrate.

This requires the corresponding male threads of the respective dedicatedcontainers including acid concentrate and, resp., basic concentrateequally having a different diameter analogously to the configuration ofthe attachment 6 so that the respective attachment and the respectivededicated type of container can be connected exclusively to each otheraccording to the lock-and-key principle.

In addition to that, color coding of the attachment 6 or of any othercomponent of the connector unit and, resp., of the respective dedicatedtype of container is possible.

For example, acid concentrates can always be stored in red containers toeach of which only an attachment colored in red can be screwed. Thiswill further facilitate correct mounting of the correct attachment tothe respective dedicated container for a user.

It is moreover imaginable to differently design the thread direction sothat, for example, for connecting the adapter 6 to the dedicatedcontainer for acid concentrate a right-hand thread or, resp., left-handthread is used and for connecting a dedicated other attachment 6 to acontainer for basic concentrate the respective other one of theleft-hand and right-hand threads is used. Thus, incorrect mounting of anattachment to a type of container which is not provided would equally beexcluded.

Since open concentrate canisters bear the risk of potentialcontamination by particles possibly penetrating from outside into thecontainer, the connector unit 1 and, resp., the attachment 6 may beprovided to be equipped with a release device 10 as already brieflymentioned at the beginning of this description, in order to safeguardthat a concentrate is sucked via the connector unit 1 through the bloodtreatment machine only when the connector unit 1 is tightly connected tothe container.

For instance, the threaded attachment 6 may be equipped with a reedcontact and a dedicated type of container may be equipped with a magnet.Only when the contact is closed by the vicinity of the magnet, would therelease device 10 release fluid flow between the blood treatment machine21 and the container 31 by opening an appropriate valve e.g. inside theplug 2 or the container 31 or the blood treatment machine 21, thusenabling the appropriate concentrate to be supplied from the container.

Furthermore, a possible release device 10 would also be a capacitivesensor or a reflection light barrier which indicates the correctmounting of the container 31 to the connector unit 1 by using atransmitter and a receiver within the connector unit 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a blood treatment machine 21, in the present case adialysis machine, which is equipped with a connector unit 1 according tothe disclosure. The connector unit 1 according to the disclosure isarranged on the blood treatment machine 21 via the machine-side line 3of the connector unit 1 in this case.

For a rinsing operation the connector unit 1 may be arranged on theblood treatment machine 21 by inserting at least also the container-sideline 4 and, where necessary, also the reinforcing element 8 into acorresponding holding fixture of the blood treatment machine 21.

The connector unit 1 and, consequently, also the attachment 6 dedicatedto the connector unit 1 is permanently fixedly associated with the bloodtreatment machine 21. Therefore, no separate attachment which has to beseparately stored and may get lost is provided. Thus, the structure ofthe blood treatment system is facilitated.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A connector unit for a blood treatmentmachine comprising: a machine-side line that fluidly connects to theblood treatment machine, a container-side line that fluidly connects toa connecting nozzle of an external container in a treatmentconfiguration and fluidly connects to a receiving aperture of the bloodtreatment machine in a disinfecting configuration, a plug-typeconnecting piece defining a fluid passage therethrough between themachine-side line and the container-side line, and an attachmentpermanently supported by the plug-type connecting piece, wherein theattachment is sized and shaped to fluidically seal and detachably couplewith the connecting nozzle of the external container in the treatmentconfiguration, and with the receiving aperture of the blood treatmentmachine in the disinfecting configuration.
 2. The connector unitaccording to claim 1, wherein the attachment is provided as a codingunit, which is dimensioned or shaped individually, so that theattachment is mountable exclusively onto the connecting nozzle of theexternal container which is of a predetermined type corresponding to acontent of the container.
 3. The connector unit according to claim 1,wherein the attachment is designed for being retained, by form lockingor frictional locking, on the connecting nozzle of the externalcontainer when the attachment is mounted on the connecting nozzle. 4.The connector unit according to claim 1, wherein the attachment is ashape-elastic bellow which is slipped over the connecting nozzle of theexternal container.
 5. The connector unit according to claim 1, whereinthe attachment is configured to be rotatable about the container-sideline and to be a dimensionally stable cap having a female thread whichis designed to be engaged in a corresponding male thread of theconnecting nozzle of the external container.
 6. The connector unitaccording claim 1, comprising at least one container-side connectingnipple connected to the container side line, wherein the connectingnipple, along its length, has a reinforcement which extends from aproximal portion in an area of the attachment, in a distal directionalong the container-side line for a defined length, beyond the area ofthe attachment.
 7. The connector unit according to claim 6, furthercomprising a limiting element near the reinforcement and distallyadjacent to the attachment, wherein the limiting element inhibits anaxial movement of the attachment relative to a longitudinal axis of theconnecting nipple.
 8. The connector unit according to claim 6, furthercomprising at least one sealing element which is disposed on theconnecting nipple and which is designed for fluidically sealing aclearance between an outside of the connecting nipple and an inside ofat least one of the receiving aperture of the blood treatment machineand the connecting nozzle of the external container.
 9. The connectorunit according to claim 1, comprising a release device for releasingfluid flow between the connector unit and the external container onlywhen the attachment of the connector unit is mounted in a predeterminedmounting position on the connecting nozzle of the external container.10. The connector unit according to claim 9, wherein the release deviceis a reed contact, a capacitive sensor or a light barrier.
 11. A systemcomprising a connector unit according to claim 1 and an externalcontainer.
 12. A blood treatment machine comprising at least oneconnector unit according to claim 1, wherein the machine-side line isfluidly connected to the receiving aperture of the blood treatmentmachine.
 13. A blood treatment machine comprising a plurality ofconnector units according to claim 1, each connector unit beingfluid-connected via its machine-side line to a respective predeterminedconnector of the blood treatment machine, wherein the respectiveattachment of each connector unit of the plurality of connector units isconfigured to be detachably mountable only to a connecting nozzle of arespective dedicated predetermined type of external container, with thetype of container corresponding to a content of the container.
 14. Theblood treatment machine according to claim 13, wherein each of theconnector units of the blood treatment machine includes a release devicewhich releases fluid flow between the blood treatment machine and arespective external container only when the attachment of the connectorunit is correctly mounted in a predetermined mounting position on theconnecting nozzle of the respective external container.
 15. Theconnector unit according to claim 1, wherein the machine-side line, thecontainer-side line, and at least an interior portion of the attachmentare disinfected when the connector unit is in the disinfectingconfiguration.